Singapore, Japan Show High IPRI Scores

The Property Rights Alliance has released its 2011 International Property Rights Index (IPRI), which measures the intellectual and physical property rights of 129 nations from around the world.

The IPRI uses three primary areas of property rights to create a composite score: legal and political Environment (LP), physical property rights (PPR), and intellectual property rights (IPR). Most importantly, the IPRI emphasizes the great economic differences between countries with strong property rights and those without. Nations falling in the first quintile enjoy an average national GDP per capita of US$38,350; more than double that of the second quintile with an average of US$18,701. The third, fourth, and fifth quintiles average US$9,316, US$5,065, and US$4,785 respectively.

“In a time of economic turbulence and financial uncertainty, all nations should be seeking solutions that will provide stability. Strong property rights is one key component,” said Property Rights Alliance executive director Kelsey Zahourek.

Sweden and Finland earned the top overall scores in the survey and the top IPR scores, each scoring an 8.5 out of a possible 10 points in both categories. Top Asia and Pacific nations in the IPR rankings included Singapore, which was 4th at 8.3, Japan (8th, 8.2), New Zealand (14th, 8.0), Australia (16th, 7.9), Hong Kong (20th, 7.5), Taiwan (22nd, 7.2), the United Arab Emirates (23rd, 7.0), South Korea (31st, 6.8) and India (51st, 5.5). China ranked 59th, the Philippines 75th and Thailand 86th. Bangladesh had the lowest-ranked Asian IPR score in 125th place.